The Natural Benefits of Silk Pillowcases and Apparel

If you’ve been regularly reading the blog, you’ll have learned that garments and bedding made from pure, natural silk have numerous health benefits: it’s probably the world’s most naturally beneficial fabric. It’s a bit hard to keep track of it all though, isn’t it?  We’ve collected all of silk’s natural benefits into a single document for the curious, the meticulous, and those who just want a good reason to brag about their silk.

Best. Skin. Ever.

Silk’s most widely known (and best for our marketing) benefit is that it is excellent at helping your skin stay smooth and moisturized.  Silk isn’t as absorbent as other materials used to make pillowcases, so it doesn’t absorb as much of your skin’s moisture. This also means it doesn’t absorb beauty care products, sunscreen, or moisturizers in the same way, say, cotton does.

Silk also has anti-aging properties. Silk’s smooth surface prevents some kinds of sleep wrinkles from forming: if you sleep in the same way every night on a cotton pillow, your skin will begin forming some creases where your face drags on the pillow.  

Silk pillowcases, on the other hand, allow your skin to slide into a non-creased state.  To see how bad crease wrinkles can get, you only need to look at the palm of your hand. Those wrinkles actually don’t form on people whose hands or fingers are paralyzed.

Allergy Banishing POWERRRR

Silk is hypoallergenic – very, very few people have a silk allergy.  But that’s not its only benefit for people with allergies: silk’s structure and protein composition also makes it resistant and repellent to a large number of other allergens.  

Dust mites have a lot of trouble living in bedding stuffed with silk, and silk’s qualities mean even cotton pillows in a silk pillowcase will retain less of your body’s moisture, making them inhospitable to dust mites.  

Silk’s hypoallergenic qualities can also help reduce the severity of eczema and dermatitis flareups, which are often reactions to allergens like dust mites.

Rapunzel ain’t got nothing on you

Letting down your hair on silk will do wonders for your it (even if it isn’t 30 feet long).  Silk pillowcase’s sheer surface doesn’t trap your hair on the pillowcase, reducing split ends and breakage and helping protect against some kinds of hair loss.  

Even better, it keeps your hair moisturized, leaving your hair just as fabulous as it was when it hit the pillow.

Hot flashes?  More Like Not Flashes

Silk is a naturally temperature regulating fabric – it tends to stay cool when exposed to heat, and tends to stay warm when exposed to the cold.  This means the fabric remains nice and cool all night – it can stand up to fevers, hot summer nights, and even hot flashes. That also means it’s great as an outer layer in most weather: from the blazing summer to the chilliest parts of autumn.

Skin Irritation and Joint Pain Banished

Silk is one of the best fabrics for people with sensitive skin: people suffering from rashes or contact irritation from fabrics can almost always see some improvement when they wear our favorite pieces such as the silk chemise, short pajamas, long pajamas. 

More interestingly, though, silk actually helps with joint pain.  A lot of garments can catch on themselves or restrict movement and, particularly for older people, this can exacerbate the symptoms of arthritis.  Since silk drapes evenly over the body and also flows smoothly over itself, it ends this particular source of joint pain.